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Monday, 21 February 2011

Review: In the Bag by Jim Carrington

In the bag by Jim Carrington
Published by Bloomsbury
Challenge: BBC
Source: Review copy (thank you Bloomsbury)

In the bag is a contemporary novel about two boys who find a bag with £20,000 in late one night and follows their story thereafter as they decide what they are going to do with the bag the following day.

The thing I liked most about this book was that the book's narrative alternated being two teenage boys who were both written superbly. I could just imagine them as one of the teenagers I teach as the author had captured teenage boys really well in their mannerisms, how they interact with each other and how they would react if they had £20,000 suddenly dropped into their laps.

The story itself went along nicely as was quite engaging to read. I loved seeing how the boys started with the moral high ground but then were tempted to spend a bot then a bit more. I loved seeing how it affected them their relationship. Some of the scenes started out quite funny as they reacted in such a teenage way throwing it all about, taking pictures of themselves with it whilst drunk but they got more serious as the story evolved especially when the "owner" of the cash tracked them down.

The only thing I found a little unsatisfying about this book was the final outcome. It just stops. I would have liked another chapter or two to finish it off in a more rounded way.

All in all a nice quick read which I enjoyed quite nicely. A brilliant insight into the minds of teenage boys.